Playing It Wrong
by kmd18
Summary: Haley and Lucas..Brooke and Nathan... Brooke and Lucas sleep together and Haley wants revenge and Lucas back. She convinces Nathan to date her. Will it work or will she end up falling for Nathan? WAY better summary inside! NALEY CENTRIC!
1. Deception

**Playing It Wrong  
Chapter One – Deception  
Summary: **_Haley James is at the top of her class and has everything she wants, a great boyfriend, tons of friends, and she's the captain of the cheerleading squad. Nathan Scott is recently injured and hating life. The only good thing he has is his girlfriend. However, when Haley and Nathan's "other halves" go behind their backs and get together, Haley devises a plan for revenge: Date Nathan Scott. Will it work or will she become too distracted along the way?_

* * *

Haley James stood at her open locker deciding which books she needed for today's classes. While she was smart enough to pass the classes without even looking at the material in the books, she was too much of a nerd inside to not use them. They were full of highlighted lines and notes, as well as tons of sticky notes marking important pages. While she truly was a nerd, people saw her in a different light. Haley James was "queen" of the school. She was gorgeous, with long blond hair, a petite body, and legs that any girl would kill for. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad and ran the tutoring center at her school. She had been head of her class since the sixth grade and didn't plan on having that change with graduation just eight months away. 

Haley grabbed her Calculus book and stuck it in her side bag and then shut her locker. She looked down at her watch and then looked up at all the people passing by. '_Where is he?_' No surprise that Lucas wasn't where he was when he said he would be. Lucas was Haley's boyfriend and the two had been inseparable since kindergarten when Haley had scared away a bully picking on Lucas. They had begun dating their freshmen year of high school and had been the ideal couple at school. However, they had started having problems a month ago when Lucas would cancel dates at the last minute or just not show up all together. Haley figured it was because it was their senior year and Lucas was relying on basketball to go to college.

Haley glanced down at her watch one more time and sighed. When she looked up again, she saw her best friend, Brooke Davis, making her way toward her.

"Hey tutor girl. How are you this fine morning?" Brooke seemed on edge and nervous, like she had just run over someone's puppy with her car and was afraid of getting caught.

"I'm fine. I was actually about to go to class, but I thought maybe Lucas would show up for once in his freaking life time." Haley was getting angrier by the second and missed Brooke's downward glance at the mention of Lucas. She knew she had to tell Haley, but she couldn't bear to do that to her best friend. Not to mention, they lived together and that would cause all sorts of trouble.

"Brooke?" Haley waved a hand in front of Brooke's face. Apparently there was something truly fascinating on the floor that had captured Brooke's attention. "Focus, please."

Brooke's head snapped up and she looked around frantically. "I gotta go. I'll see you at practice. Bye!" Before Haley could speak, Brooke hugged her and ran off down the hallway.

"Okay…" Haley looked around one last time and then walked down the hallway to her class.

* * *

Nathan Scott sat outside in the quad waiting for his girlfriend to show up. They had planned to meet up before classes and discuss the party Nathan was throwing this weekend. Nathan enjoyed having Brooke as his girlfriend. She was optimistic, entertaining and a great party planner. They had been dating since the end of their sophomore year and were practically married. Nathan had been dating Rachel Gatina at the time, but was really into Brooke and when Brooke invited him on a cruise with her, he ditched Rachel for the summer and the rest is history. They had become so close that Nathan had asked Haley if he could move into their apartment even though Brooke had already moved all of his things out of his house and into her room. He didn't want to lose his amazing tutor because of his girlfriend. 

Nathan and Haley had never gotten along well and still had their moments when people thought there was going to be bloodshed, but they had learned to tolerate each other and Haley had even offered to tutor Nathan so he could continue playing basketball. Secretly, it was her way of keeping him away from the apartment as much as possible.

Nathan looked down at the coffee he had bought for Brooke and tossed it in the nearest garbage can. Moments later Brooke came running over and sat down next to him.

"Hey! Why'd you throw my coffee away?" She said with a pout and looked over at the garbage, longing for some caffeine.

Nathan gave her a stern look. "It got cold. Where have you been? You said to meet you out here at seven and its 7:25."

"I'm sorry. I had… things that I had to do. I lost track of time. Besides, it's not a big deal. We live together." Brooke shrugged, which made Nathan even angrier than he currently was.

"Ya know what, Brooke? From now on you can buy your own damn coffee and do other things that you need to do in the morning. I have more important things I could be doing, like getting an extra physical therapy session in. I can't play basketball right now in case you haven't noticed!"

Nathan gave Brooke one more look before grabbing his backpack and hobbling away as fast as he could. He had injured his knee, surprisingly not by playing basketball, but by chasing Haley around the apartment trying to get the Xbox controller. She had been studying and asked him to turn the volume down and when he refused she took the controller hostage. He had meant to jump over the couch to get to her, but his foot got caught and he fell, in the process causing damage to his ACL. Haley had felt so bad that she had gone to every one of his physical therapy sessions and constantly asked the nurse if he was ready to play again and if not, how much longer it would be until he could play again. It got so bad that the nurse banned Haley from the room during the session.

Brooke sighed and then got up and went to find Haley.

* * *

Haley sat in the quad after school, waiting for Lucas yet again. She had cheer practice in an hour and was hoping to see him before then because she had to tutor Nathan right after practice. 

"Haley!" Haley looked up and saw Peyton wave at her from the other side of the courtyard, trying to make her way through the mass of people occupying it. Peyton also lived with Brooke and Haley. When they had all turned 18 at the beginning of their senior year, they moved out of their parents' houses and got an apartment. Peyton and Haley had been friends since middle school and had been through everything together. They were close, but not as close as Haley and Brooke. Peyton was different and often did things that pissed off Haley. Other than those moments, they were always there for each other.

A minute later Peyton sat down next to Haley and pulled out her sketchbook. "How you been? Good day? Bad day?" Peyton looked nervous and tilted her sketchbook away from Haley and began scribbling frantically.

"Uhm… Okay day. Lucas stood me up this morning, but what's new? It's been a good day. I got an A on my research paper. That made me pretty happy." Haley tried to look at Peyton's drawing, but Peyton would move the book whenever she got too close. "What are you drawing?"

"You'll see. So how are things with Lucas?" Peyton looked up briefly and saw Haley's smile falter. Peyton then looked back down at the sketchbook and blurred some areas with her finger.

"They're okay. We've had some trouble, but I'm sure it's nothing. He's just busy trying to get into a great school because if he can't get a scholarship… he's screwed." Haley shrugged and smiled again. Peyton put her pen away and tore the picture out of the book and stood up.

"I hate to break it to you, but it's always something and right now, something isn't basketball. See you at practice." She handed Haley the drawing, grabbed her things, and left. Haley looked down at the picture and suddenly was unable to breathe. Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt her blood begin to boil. In the drawing was her best friend and her boyfriend behind her apartment… being more than just friends.

"Peyton… you bitch."

* * *

Haley stood on a bleacher at practice watching the squad do their performance. They had the Classic in three weeks and losing was not an option for Haley. They had been practicing for two hours and Haley was far from impressed. Haley hit the stop button on the CD player and stepped down from the bleachers. 

"STOP! Are you guys serious?! Do you really think that CRAP will win us a trophy?" No one spoke. "Anyone? Does anyone want to explain why we've been working on this routine for three weeks and it still sucks?"

"It doesn't. You're being ridiculous. It is perfect," said Brooke. She was getting pissed at Haley. Everyone was tired and dehydrated and Haley was being crazy today. Normally she was nice and would point out what was wrong and show the girls how to improve.

"Oh really? Then why is it that you can't hit the freaking back handspring on eight or Teresa can't clap with everyone else. Or how about Bevin can't even get the damn routine without counting out loud which makes us look stupid! You wanna explain that!" Haley was now yelling and had captured the attention of the entire basketball team.

"Miss James! Is there a reason you have decided to interrupt my practice?" Whitey looked pissed. "Now, I let you girls use this gym while my team practices under the terms that you respect the team, as well as myself. If you'd like to yell, you can find somewhere else to practice. Do we have an understanding?"

"I wouldn't be yelling if my squad didn't suck."

"Oh really… Bye bye now."

"But… Whitey…" Haley crossed her arms and gave him a pleading look.

"Out. Shoo!" He waved his arms and some of the basketball players laughed. Haley glared and then looked at her squad.

"Okay. Fine. Everyone… outside! Now!" Haley grabbed the stereo and headed towards the doors.

"Haley, it's like 20 degrees outside." Brooke looked at her and wondered what kind of bug had crawled up her butt and died. Peyton just shook her head, knowing exactly what was up with Adolf Haley.

"NOW!" Haley slammed open the gym door and walked outside. She was beyond pissed.

* * *

The squad spent another hour and a half practicing and being picked apart by Haley. She had finally called practice when they got through it without messing up. All the girls were freezing and pissed at Haley and whatever had made her so upset. None of them deserved what Haley had put them through, but they now knew to go home and practice in order to avoid three hour practices. 

Haley was putting her things in her bag when Peyton came over and sat next to her.

"I'm gonna guess that you're pretty pissed off at Brooke and Lucas right now. Am I right?" Haley glared at her and then sighed.

"I just don't see how they could do that. Brooke's my best friend and roommate and Lucas… I never pictured him as the type to hurt someone like that. How could they betray me like that?" Haley looked like she was about to cry, but pulled it together when she saw Brooke walking towards them.

"People do things that we may not understand and possibly never will. Why they did what they did is a mystery to me because I know how close you and Brooke are. Hell you're closer to her than you are to Lucas and you've known him way longer. It's just life and you know it's not always going to be fair and I'm sorry that it happened to you." Peyton gave Haley a reassuring look.

"I guess so. You were no help by the way. That's where part of my anger came from. You just sprung it on me and left me there to think about all the reasons that could have compelled them to do that."

Peyton shrugged. "I'm not good with words, Haley, and you know that. Look at how many arguments we get in when I use words. My art is who I am. I speak better through my art then I do with words. It was the easiest way for me to break it to you. I'm sorry I was so harsh about it."

"It's okay. I still love you. I wish I didn't know. I kind of wish I could be oblivious to this. It would just be so much easier and not add to the stress I already have."

"Well… You could be Nathan. He just found out he may never play ball again and now the only good thing in his life is a deceitful tramp that's sleeping with his brother. It could be much worse. I'll see you at home." Haley nodded and continued putting her things away.

"Hey Tutor Girl." Brooke approached slowly scared that Haley may kill her. She still wondered what compelled Haley to act the way she did at practice. Haley didn't say anything to Brooke. "You okay?"

"Fine." Brooke sat down next to Haley.

"Are you sure? You didn't seem to fine at practice today." Haley looked up and saw Nathan walk out of the locker room. She got up and grabbed her things.

"You know what, Brooke? You should really mind your own business and stay out of other people's lives. Just stick to what you have and leave me to what I have. I gotta go."

* * *

Haley and Nathan sat in Haley's old bedroom in her parent's house. They used it for their tutoring sessions because the noise at the apartment was hard to work around. Haley's parents were fine with the idea as long as Haley didn't wind up pregnant from tutoring. Haley sat on her old bed staring at the notebook in front of her. Her glasses were perched on her nose and she was idly doodling while Nathan worked. She had been tutoring him for two years now and had come to enjoy it, despite having trouble getting along with Nathan. 

As much as he bugged her, the last thing she wanted to see was his dream slip away because of his grades, even though she may have accidentally caused that with the Xbox incident. She looked over at Nathan who was laying on the end of the bed working on a math problem. She wondered if she should tell him about Brooke and Lucas or if she should just let him find out on his own terms. Either way he would know by tomorrow since Haley was ready to go off on Brooke when she got back to the apartment. She had almost slipped at practice when Brooke stood up to her, but she was not about to bring her personal life into practice.

She had called all the girls, except Brooke, after practice and apologized for her behavior. She told them that she had just had a rough day and had accidentally taken it out on the squad. All of them had been understanding and nice about the whole thing. Everyone knew Haley was nice and would never treat people like that. She had even called Whitey and apologized and he had agreed to let her use the gym again as long as she didn't go crazy.

"Hey Nathan… How are you and Brooke?"

Nathan looked up and smiled at her. "We're great. I mean she's been acting weird lately, but I think its cause her parents cut her off and she's worried about money problems. Other than that we're great. Why do you ask?"

Haley shrugged. "I was just asking. She seemed nervous this morning when we were talking. It's probably nothing." Haley looked back down at her notebook.

"Are you sure that's why you're asking? Is something wrong?"

"No." Haley shook her head, but the look on her face was far from convincing. Nathan sat up and looked at her.

"Haley… What's going on?"

"Nothing. Really. Do your homework. It's almost nine and we need to get back to the apartment." Haley closed her notebook and put it in her bag. She pulled out another notebook and the drawing Peyton gave her fell out. Haley hurried to pick it up, but Nathan noticed.

"What's that? Another one of Peyton's depressing pieces of art?" He laughed a little and went to grab it from Haley.

"It's nothing." She moved her arm and slid the drawing back into her bag. Nathan glared at her and then continued working on his homework.

A few minutes later Haley got up and put her things down.

"I'm gonna go get some water. Do you want anything?" Nathan shook his head.

"I'm fine."

"Okay." Once Haley had left the room, Nathan grabbed her bag and looked around for the drawing she had hidden. She had so many damn drawings in her bag because she was working on a portfolio for Peyton to show to colleges she was interested in. Nathan grabbed the pile and put them on the bed and looked through them, searching for anything he hadn't seen before. He stopped when he got to one in particular that he had never seen. He couldn't believe what he was looking at. Nathan stayed quiet for several minutes and just stared at the drawing.

Haley came back into the room a few minutes later and saw all of Peyton's drawings sprawled all over her bed. Nathan was sitting there in silence, obviously taken aback by the drawing.

"Nathan…" Haley walked over to the bed and sat next to him.

"This is a joke, right? Tell me this is a joke!" He threw the drawing on the floor and then threw his pencil at it, as if the pencil would make it go away or erase the site before him.

Haley just shook her head.

"How long have you known about this?" Nathan looked furious and Haley knew that she about to receive whatever angry words Nathan had to say.

"Peyton told me right before practice. And before you ask, I don't know how long Peyton has known and I'm not going to sit here and listen to you yell about how ridiculous this is. I'm not Brooke and I don't want to hear it. Not right now."

Nathan sat down and shook his head. "I can't believe this."

"Yeah, well neither could I."

"I guess she couldn't stand not having the basketball hero."

"Nathan, that is not true. That isn't all she sees in you."

"Really? Then what does she see in me? She is sleeping with Lucas, who isn't her damn boyfriend. I am. I'm Brooke's boyfriend! I'm supposed to sleep with her, not him! Not him, damnit!"

* * *

Nathan and Haley walked up to the apartment quietly. Neither of them had spoken on the walk home because neither knew what to say. Nothing would make them feel better right now. Haley unlocked the door and they both walked inside. The lights were off which was weird considering it was only 9:30. Haley set her bag down and flipped the light switch and the room lit up. 

"I wonder where everyone is…" Haley walked over to the fridge to get some water. She noticed a small note on it. "Peyton is… off sucking face with Jake. Whoo hoo." Haley rolled her eyes. She closed the fridge and walked over to the couch and sat next to Nathan.

"I can't believe this," Nathan whispered. Haley looked at him.

"Yeah… Me neither. I mean, how could my best friend and my boyfriend betray me like that? I trusted them with my life and they go behind my back and do this."

"Haley, Lucas is my brother. My brother is sleeping with my girlfriend. That's more messed up." Haley contemplated the notion for a second and then nodded.

"Yes it is." They both heard the door open and looked over at the entry way to the hall. About ten seconds later Brooke and Lucas came out into the living room and stopped when they saw Nathan and Haley.

"Uhm… I thought you guys didn't get back until 10:30?" Brooke looked confused.

**TBC.**

**Reviews make writer happy. **


	2. The Fallout

**Playing It Wrong  
Chapter Two – The Fallout**

**Summary:**_Haley James is at the top of her class and has everything she wants, a great boyfriend, tons of friends, and she's the captain of the cheerleading squad. Nathan Scott is recently injured and hating life. The only good thing he has is his girlfriend. However, when Haley and Nathan's "other halves" go behind their backs and get together, Haley devises a plan for revenge: Date Nathan Scott. Will it work or will she become too distracted along the way?_

_  
_**A/N:** I just wanted to thank you guys so much! The reviews were awesome and I appreciate all the great feedback. This chapter was co-written with my amazing beta, Sepideh. Her penname is H. James-Scott.

* * *

_Nathan and Haley walked up to the apartment quietly. Neither of them had spoken on the walk home because neither knew what to say. Nothing would make them feel better right now. Haley unlocked the door and they both walked inside. The lights were off which was weird considering it was only 9:30. Haley set her bag down and flipped the light switch and the room lit up. _

"_I wonder where everyone is…" Haley walked over to the fridge to get some water. She noticed a small note on it. "Peyton is… off sucking face with Jake. Whoo hoo." Haley rolled her eyes. She closed the fridge and walked over to the couch and sat next to Nathan. _

"_I can'__t believe this," Nathan whispered. Haley looked at him._

"_Yeah… Me neither. I mean, how could my best friend and my boyfriend betray me like that? I trusted them with my life and they go behind my back and do this."_

"_Haley, Lucas is my brother. My brother is sleeping with my girlfriend. That'__s more messed up." Haley contemplated the notion for a second and then nodded._

"_Yes it is." They both heard the door open and looked over at the entry way to the hall. About ten seconds later Brooke and Lucas came out into the living room and stopped when they saw Nathan and Haley._

"_Uhm… I thought you guys didn'__t get back until 10:30?" Brooke looked confused._

Haley stood and crossed her arms while Nathan remained on the couch, shaking his head. He couldn't believe this. He had hoped Haley and Peyton were wrong, but it was obvious that they weren't. Brooke stood there wearing only a long t-shirt and Lucas was wearing a pair of boxers. Both were flushed, hair tussled, and it was apparent they had just had sex.

"You know… I wanted to believe that you two weren't going behind my back or Nathan's and screwing, but I guess I was just hoping for too much. What the hell is wrong with you two?!" Haley was slowly making her way across the room because she knew if she moved too quickly, she may end up bitch slapping someone, not to say she wouldn't anyways.

"Haley, we were going to tell you. I tried to this morning, but I freaked…" Brooke moved closer to Lucas to get away from Haley, but quickly moved away when she realized what she was doing. The last thing she needed to do was piss off Haley and Nathan more than she already had.

"You were going to tell me? What were you going to tell me?! That you're sleeping with MY boyfriend? Yeah, that's right, Brooke. Lucas and I are still together! How can you do that to someone, especially someone who is supposed to be your best friend?" Before Brooke could respond, Haley turned to Lucas and started attacking him. "And you! How the hell could you betray me like that?"

"Haley, it was a mistake. I didn't mean to hurt you. We just made a mistake and that's all it was. It was a one-time thing, I swear." Lucas looked away and Haley knew he was lying.

"It was a mistake?! How do you make a mistake more than one time? You're supposed to learn from your mistakes! You didn't sleep together once. You're a liar! You should know better than to lie to me, Lucas."

"You know what? I tried to be nice about it, Haley and not hurt you as bad as the truth would, but you don't understand that. The truth is that Brooke and I have been together for three months and I fell out of love with you long before then. I'm in love with Brooke, and you should know that you can't help who you fall in love with," Lucas spoke, quickly realizing that he had made Haley angrier than she already was, if that was possible. Nathan had gotten up from his seat and made his way towards Lucas about to punch the living daylights out of his brother, the girlfriend thief. The thought made Nathan's blood boil. Before Nathan had a chance to lay a hand on Lucas Haley spoke up.

"How dare justifying your disgusting actions!? You two may be in love Lucas but does that give you the right to hurt two people who have done anything but love the both of you!?" Haley fumed, pushing Lucas, causing him to nearly trip over a small table.

"Haley…" Brooke started but quickly shut her mouth once Haley turned to her pointing her finger at her.

"Shut up Brooke! I don't want you to say a word. Your voice is the last thing I want to hear at the moment!" Haley yelled angrily.

"Haley that's not fair! At least let me explain," Brooke shouted.

All went silent and Brooke wanted nothing but to run away from the scene. She should have kept her mouth shut because what was to come would not be pretty.

"Fair? Fair!? Brooke here wants to talk to me about fair," Haley laughed sarcastically. "Well then tell me _**Saint**_Brooke, what exactly is fair? Is it fair to betray your boyfriend and your best friend the way you have? Is it fair to sleep with Lucas and then break up with Nathan? Because I thought it worked the OTHER way around," Haley screamed, her face was as red as a tomato.

"I…" before Brooke could even finish Haley's hand connected to her face surprising her with a hard slap. Brooke's hand immediately went to her stinging cheek, completely shocked.

The front door opened and Peyton entered the apartment. "Haley?" she asked, looking over at Brooke, who was holding her cheek, completely stunned. Haley was fuming, Lucas was shocked and Nathan was looking at Lucas with homicidal eyes. Peyton quickly understood what was going on and didn't want to stay in the room and witness what was sure to follow. "I'll just go and…" before she could finish Brooke spoke up.

"It was you, wasn't it!? You told them!" Brooke screamed at her.

"Brooke, you did the damage. I just wanted to let my friend know what a horrible person her best friend was being. How could you do that to Haley? Are you jealous? What is so great about Lucas because I thought you had the greater boyfriend? Does it make you so mad that Haley has a better life than you? You're pathetic, Brooke."

"You are the reason this whole thing happened. You're a two faced bitch, Peyton," Brooke spat as she walked towards her.

"Don't you dare blame her!" Nathan finally spoke up, "If it wasn't for Peyton, Haley and I would've witnessed what you two were doing ourselves. Peyton did us a favor, as well as you two. God only knows what would have happened if I had walked in on you whoring yourself out to my brother without any knowledge that this could be going on. You're the two faced bitch, Brooke, not Peyton."

"Nate…" Brooke started, guilt overtaking her emotions as she looked at her upset boyfriend.

"I don't want to hear it Brooke. I gave you a chance. I knew you were promiscuous and liked attention, but this is low. You're a slut. That's all I can think of you now. I thought you were a good person, but you're no better than Rachel was as far as I'm concerned. The only difference is she actually changed for the better and I threw that away for you," he said folding his arms.

Brooke kept quiet.

"You know what the sad thing is about all of this?" Haley asked after a few moments of silence. "Neither of you apologized," Haley said, laughing bitterly. She shook her head before walking out of the room and down the hall. The loud slamming of a door was heard seconds later.

* * *

Haley sat on her bed and stared at the wall. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Twenty-four hours ago she had a perfect life. She had the perfect boyfriend, or so she thought. How was she supposed to go to school and see Brooke everyday at practice or Brooke and Lucas in the hallway acting like a couple? She had been in her room for thirty minutes and Nathan was still yelling at Brooke and Lucas. She was sure there had been a fight because she heard glass breaking and some slamming into the walls. Suddenly, everything got very quiet. A few seconds later Nathan came storming into her room and slammed the door. The next words that came out of his mouth shocked Haley. 

"We should have sex." He looked straight at her and she could tell he was being serious.

"Are you okay, Nathan?" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"Am I okay? Haley, we just found out that Brooke and Lucas are sleeping together and leaving us so they can be pretty together. No, I'm not okay."

"Okay... but I'm not having sex with you."

"Why not?" He looked slightly confused.

"Because I don't want to have sex with you, Nathan. I have no desire to have sex with, especially after last night."

"So if last night hadn't happened and we were both single, would you sleep with me?"

"No!" Haley was getting flustered and Nathan was enjoying every moment of it. He knew she wasn't whole-hearted in her answer and that she was contemplating the idea, but was too uncomfortable to do that.

"Okay, but could I crash on your floor or something? I don't want to wake up tomorrow on the couch and have to look at Brooke."

"I wouldn't want to see her skank ass, either." She smirked and then realized what she had said and a frown appeared on her face. "You can sleep on my bed. It's big enough for the two of us. Just don't touch me and if I wake up with your... parts poking me, there will be bloodshed. Got it?" Nathan nodded and didn't say a thing. He was too busy figuring out how he was going to sleep next to Haley all night without anything awkward happening.

It was going to be a long night...

* * *

Haley woke up the next morning with something very warm holding her. She slowly rolled over and came face to face with Nathan. She moved away from him, but became very cold and moved back against him. She pulled the covers closer to her and tensed when Nathan's arm encircled her waist and pulled her closer. He was still asleep, but Haley was still slightly freaked out. She relaxed and closed her eyes again, but couldn't fall back asleep. She tried looking around the room at anything, but Nathan. However, she quickly failed at that and decided to just stare at him. It wasn't like he was awake. 

"Stop looking at me. It's creeping me out." Nathan smiled and opened his eyes. Haley punched him on the arm.

"You jerk. You were awake the whole time!" Nathan laughed softly and nodded. Neither of them made any move to remove his arm from Haley's waist. "How'd you sleep?"

"Just fine. Thanks again. I probably would have frozen to death on the couch seeing as how someone likes subarctic temperatures," he said giving Haley a look.

"Not true. I just don't like a hot apartment. If we keep it above 68, it gets really hot in the middle of the day."

"Excuses, excuses." The two of them lay there just staring at each other. Haley could feel tension building and quickly got up and went into the bathroom and shut the door.

"You are not having those thoughts, Haley James. You just broke up with your boyfriend and just because his hot brother was sleeping in your bed doesn't mean anything. You should be thinking of ways to get back at Brooke and Lucas, not making goo goo eyes at Nathan..." She was pacing around the bathroom. She turned on the shower and began to undress when a thought struck her. She hurried out of the bathroom, forgetting she was now wearing just a bra and panties.

"I have an idea."

Nathan looked up and his breath caught in his throat when he saw Haley. Paying attention to her was going to be difficult. He simply nodded his head as his eyes travelled over her body. _'She is gorgeous. Why was I dating Brooke?'_

"Nathan. Up here!" She glared at him and pointed to her face. She had been halfway through explaining her idea when she realized his eyes were fixed on her chest. "What is with the male species being fascinated with a girl's chest?"

"Huh?" Nathan looked up at Haley and shifted on the bed because he was becoming very uncomfortable.

"Whatever," Haley said shaking her head. "I have an idea. I think we should date, but not really. We'll pretend to date in order to get back at Brooke and Lucas." She crossed her arms over her chest to keep Nathan from losing focus again.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not dating you, Haley." Haley looked confused.

"We wouldn't really be dating. We would be pretending."

"I'm not going to sink to their level."

"We wouldn't be. We aren't with anyone and we don't have to sleep together... and we wouldn't. Please?"

"I can't. Brooke really hurt me and I just can't deal with this right now." Haley got a very pissed off look on her face and marched over to the bed and got uncomfortably close to Nathan.

"Look, you sissy boy. Brooke broke your heart. Deal with it. Stop acting like a girl and suck it up. You're going to do this or so help me God, I will hurt you. Got it?" Nathan was silent. Haley continued to stand there with her arms crossed and got a confused look on her face when a smirk formed on Nathan's face. "What?"

"I'm not doing it. I mean, I'm hurt and vulnerable. What do I get in return?" Nathan knew his mocking tone was getting to Haley and seeing her get infuriated was actually quite entertaining.

Haley glared and walked over to the bed. She climbed onto it and leaned into Nathan, her mouth barely touching his ear. "Me," she said dragging her hand down his chest and jump stopping short of where the sheet was draped across his lap. "You can have whatever you want." All Nathan could do was nod and let out a groan, which could only be interpreted as him agreeing. Nathan went to put his arms around Haley's waist, but she quickly crawled off the bed.

"Good, now get dressed. We have to be at school in an hour." With that said Haley walked back into the bathroom and closed the door. Nathan just sat there stunned. He had never seen Haley be so forceful with anyone. He kind of liked it.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

Brooke sat in the kitchen reading a magazine and waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. She heard a door open and tensed, but relaxed when Peyton entered the kitchen. 

"Hey." Brooke was unsure if Peyton was mad at her.

"Hey. Rough night, huh?" Peyton walked over to the fridge and opened it and looked around for something to eat.

"You could say that. I just don't see how they could be so mean. I was trying to be nice and explain things and they just overreacted."

Peyton turned and looked at Brooke. "You do realize what you just said, right? Brooke, you were wrong. You messed up and you deserved everything they said and you really deserved it when Haley slapped you. You let your friend and boyfriend down. What you did was really messed up so stop trying to play the victim."

"What the hell, Peyton? At least I didn't go behind my best friend's back and tell a secret." Peyton gave her a shocked look. "Okay so I went behind my best friend's back and messed up. I know that. I just wish I could take it back and everything could be fine again."

"Well, you can't and it won't. You don't deserve Haley or Nathan's forgiveness right now and you're lucky I'm even talking to you." Peyton grabbed her things off the counter and left the room.

* * *

Haley sat on the front porch drinking coffee and waiting for Nathan to finish getting ready for school. She still needed to make sure he was on board with her and that his hormones weren't the only reason for his answer this morning. Haley still felt weird about her actions and wondered what had taken over her. She never acted like that. 

The house had been awkwardly quiet this morning and Brooke was gone long before Haley came out of her room. Haley looked down at the paper in front of her. It was Nathan's English paper that was due next week and Haley was editing it for him. She scribbled a few notes in the margin and looked up when she heard someone approaching. Haley looked up and saw Lucas.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She set down the paper and pen and removed her glasses.

"I just wanted to talk, if that's okay with you. If not, I can wait." Haley was silent for a few seconds before pointing to the chair next to her.

"You have two minutes because in about two minutes, Nathan will be coming out here and I will not keep him from kicking your ass. So speak fast."

"Okay. I just wanted to apologize for what I did and I know it may seem worthless to you, but I do mean it. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to break up with you and take the risk of losing my best friend and I didn't want to hurt Brooke." Haley rolled her eyes, but said nothing. "Look, I understand that you hate me and probably wish I would die, but I just needed you to hear that I'm sorry." Lucas got up and made his way down the porch steps.

"Hey Lucas?" He stopped and turned to Haley. There were tears forming in her eyes and he could tell that she was trying to be strong and not let him see her breaking down.

"Yeah?"

"I would have been your friend, no matter what. I've known you since we were kids. I would have been a little mad if you had left me for Brooke, but it wouldn't hurt as bad as it hurts now. I trusted you and I gave you my heart. I would have stayed friends with you, but you betrayed me by not telling me and by leading me on. I don't think we can ever be friends again and as far as I'm concerned that would be fine."

Lucas looked hurt and he knew he had royally screwed himself.

**TBC.  
Be kind. Review.**


	3. I Told You So

**Playing It Wrong  
Chapter Three – I Told You So**

**  
****Summary:**_Haley James is at the top of her class and has everything she wants, a great boyfriend, tons of friends, and she's the captain of the cheerleading squad. Nathan Scott is recently injured and hating life. The only good thing he has is his girlfriend. However, when Haley and Nathan's "other halves" go behind their backs and get together, Haley devises a plan for revenge: Date Nathan Scott. Will it work or will she become too distracted along the way?_

_  
_**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews everyone! I really hope you enjoy this chapter! I skipped ahead a few days so if you get confused about it, three days have passed. Please keep the reviews coming. They inspire me as cheesy as that sounds. Also, if you have ANY ideas PLEASE send them to me because I have NOT planned out this story. I'm writing it by chapter.

* * *

"_What the hell are you doing here?" She set down the paper and pen and removed her glasses. _

"_I just wanted to talk, if that's okay with you. If not, I can wait." Haley was silent for a few seconds before pointing to the chair next to her._

"_You have two minutes because in about two minutes, Nathan will be coming out here and I will not keep him from kicking your ass. So speak fast."_

"_Okay. I just wanted to apologize for what I did and I know it may seem worthless to you, but I do mean it. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to break up with you and take the risk of losing my best friend and I didn't want to hurt Brooke." Haley rolled her eyes, but said nothing. "Look, I understand that you hate me and probably wish I would die, but I just needed you to hear that I'm sorry." Lucas got up and made his way down the porch steps._

"_Hey Lucas?" He stopped and turned to Haley. There were tears forming in her eyes and he could tell that she was trying to be strong and not let him see her breaking down._

"_Yeah?"_

"_I would have been your friend, no matter what. I've known you since we were kids. I would have been a little mad if you had left me for Brooke, but it wouldn't hurt as bad as it hurts now. I trusted you and I gave you my heart. I would have stayed friends with you, but you betrayed me by not telling me and by leading me on. I don't think we can ever be friends again and as far as I'm concerned that would be fine." _

_Lucas looked hurt and he knew he had royally screwed himself._

Nathan sat in the quad waiting for Haley. She had told him that she needed to talk to him and they had decided that lunch would be the best time to talk. It had been a few days since Nathan and Haley had found out. Nathan had had several run-ins with Brooke since then and all of them had been sufficiently awkward. They also had to tolerate sitting next to each other in Calculus for a whole hour. Brooke had tried talking to Nathan, but he was adamant to ignore her as long as possible. He even went as far as getting up and moving across the room halfway through class, receiving several odd looks from his fellow classmates.

He had called his Uncle Cooper on his way to school to ask if he could stay with him until he found his own place. He had decided he would skip his last class so he could get his things out of the apartment without running into Brooke.

"Hey," Haley said as she sat down next to Nathan.

"Hey." The two sat there in awkward silence for a few moments. Obviously, Haley's actions the other morning had caused more tension then she had hoped for. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, right. I wanted to apologize for the other morning. I didn't mean to come off as manipulative or anything. I just did the first thing that came to mind and obviously it worked, but I feel bad now. I don't want you to do this if you aren't comfortable or ready or just don't want to do this. I was just really angry when I asked you." She looked at him hoping he would understand where she was coming from.

Nathan nodded and let out a small laugh. "It's totally okay. It's not that I don't want to go along with this whole thing, I'm just not sure that I'm ready to get back into that kind of commitment, even though we wouldn't actually be dating."

"Then why did you say yes?" Haley knew it was because of what she did, but she wanted to hear him say it.

"You know why I said yes." Haley blushed at the comment. "I just didn't picture you as the seductive type."

"I'm sorry. I'm not normally like that. I really don't know what came over me."

"Hey, I'm not complaining." Haley's blush went from a light pink shade to a crimson red in a matter of seconds. She didn't know why this was happening. She had never been this way with Lucas and she was supposed to hate Nathan.

"Well, if we aren't going to pretend to date, the least we can do is be friends, right? It won't hurt either of us to be a little more civil with each other." Nathan nodded. They had been getting along a little better, even before the blow up.

"That'd be great."

"Oh! I finished going over your paper this morning. It's great, but there are a few errors. I wrote notes in the margins so you can fix them." She handed the paper to Nathan and watched as he flipped through it. He impressed her sometimes. When she had first started tutoring him, he was so arrogant and rude. He thought he was so much better then everyone. That is until she stopped tutoring him and his grades started slipping. She had started tutoring him again and she saw a huge improvement. His attitude seemed to disappear and he was actually enjoyable to be around. "How have you been today?"

"I was actually doing fairly well this morning and then I ran into Brooke. She was coming out of the gym as I was going in and I'm just so used to seeing her every morning that I hadn't even thought of seeing her. I kind of felt bad about all the mean things I said to her the other night until I ran into her before Calculus with Lucas. It amazes me how she says all these things about how sorry she is and that she didn't mean to hurt us, but it doesn't take her much time to make it clear to everyone that she and Lucas are now together." Haley shook her head, hurt that they could act so selfishly. "To make it worse, she decided to try and talk to me all through Calculus to the point that I had to get up and move away from her. I just don't understand her."

"And speaking of our favourite cheerleader..." Haley pointed behind Nathan when she saw Brooke approaching.

"Great. I wonder what lame excuses she has now." Haley laughed at the comment and stopped when Brooke stopped at the table.

"Nathan, can I talk to you... alone." She gave Haley a look that was far from apologetic. Haley rolled her eyes and made no effort to move.

"Actually, Haley and I are talking. It'll have to wait." Nathan looked down at the paper in front of him, hoping Brooke would get a clue.

"It's important. We need to talk about what happened. You've been ignoring me for three days now." Brooke crossed her arms.

"Why don't you just leave him alone? He obviously has nothing to say to you. Do you not get it?" Haley had had enough of Brooke and her whining. She was so sick of people giving Brooke the benefit of the doubt even when they knew she didn't deserve it. She had seen Brooke get her way so many times by being flirtatious or acting dumb and she was sick of it.

"Why don't you mind your own business? How about that? Why don't you run along and find Lucas? Oh, that's right. You guys broke up." Brooke smirked at Haley. A few students passing by stopped when they heard Brooke's comment. This caused even more to gather, all of them hoping there would be a fight.

"Brooke, you need to back off," Nathan warned, standing up between the two girls.

"Why? She needs to get over it and stop acting like a baby. So what if her boyfriend doesn't want her anymore."

"Oh that's it, you bitch." Haley pushed Nathan out of her way and lunged at Brooke, causing them to topple to the ground. Haley pinned Brooke to the ground and punched her square in the jaw. Half the crowd cheered Haley on while the other half was rooting for Brooke.

"You have no right!" Haley raised her hand and backhanded Brooke so hard she heard a popping noise. Brooke screamed in pain and tried to hit Haley and push her off of her. She was surprised at how strong Haley was. Haley pulled Brooke's hair in order to keep her from pushing on her. Brooke managed to reach out and scratch Haley across the face, leaving two identical cuts.

"Chick fight!!" Some guy yelled. "Yeah!"

"You think you're so perfect, Brooke? Huh?! Think you'll be perfect with a black eye? Or how about a broken nose?!"

"Punch her!" Some chick from the crowd yelled.

"Yeah, lay it on her!"

Haley raised her fist, but before she could punch Brooke, Nathan grabbed her around the waist and pulled her off of Brooke. Haley was kicking violently, trying to get out of Nathan's grasp, but it was no use. Brooke just lay there on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Let me go, Nathan!" Haley tried biting his arm, but couldn't turn her head far enough.

"Not until you calm down." Haley kicked Nathan in the shin, but it did nothing to loosen his grip. She would have gone for his knee, but knew how much his rehabilitation meant to him.

"Fine. Just let me go!" Nathan was hesitant. "I'm serious." Nathan put Haley down and made sure she didn't try anything. Haley grabbed her things and looked at Brooke. "Besides, she isn't worth it anymore," she spat before walking away.

* * *

Haley sat in the gym after school that day working on her Calculus homework. She had cancelled cheer practice that afternoon and decided to watch the basketball practice and wait for Nathan, despite Lucas being there. Every time she looked up Lucas was watching her. She knew she had been harsh when they had talked earlier that week, but it wasn't like he didn't deserve it. As for Nathan, he had been given permission to go to practice, but he couldn't do any strenuous exercises.

Haley and Brooke were both lucky that they weren't suspended. They had both been called into Principal Turner's office and had tried to convince him it was a stupid fight over nothing. He had been hesitant to let them go, but had decided to if they wrote him a paper on why fighting is bad. There had been a few moments in the office where Haley had been tempted to bash Brooke's face into Turner's desk.

Haley looked up and saw Peyton approaching the bleachers. She set down her things and turned to look at her friend, slightly wincing at the sight of Haley's scratched up cheek.

"Hey," Peyton said, sitting down next to Haley. "How's the face?" She pointed to the scratch marks across Haley's cheek.

"It hurts a lot, but I imagine Brooke's hurts about ten times worse."

"Yeah, I heard you wailed on her pretty bad."

Haley nodded. "Yeah, it was not one of my proudest moments." She shrugged and looked over at the basketball team. She smiled when Nathan looked over at her. This didn't go unnoticed by Peyton.

"How's Nathan?" Haley looked over at Peyton and shrugged.

"How would I know?"

"Well, you guys have been spending an awful lot of time together lately. What's going on, Haley?"

Haley sighed. "I don't know. I freaked out the other morning and tried to get Nathan to go along with this crazy plan and it's been really awkward since then, even though we've been hanging out. I guess we're just trying to find some sort of answer for why this had to happen to us."

"Shouldn't you be trying to figure that out on your own because I was pretty sure that, that is how it works?" Haley looked at Peyton and knew she was trying to get at something.

"Look Peyton, I know you think there is something going on just like the rest of the school, but there is nothing going on between Nathan and me." Peyton raised her eyebrow.

"You know you like him and you have for a while. You just didn't want to admit it because you were with Lucas and now that you aren't with him anymore, you're starting to admit it to yourself. You know I'm right, Haley."

"Well, even if you were right and I'm not saying you are, it wouldn't matter. Nathan and I won't be ready for relationships for a while so just drop it, okay?"

"Okay. I won't mention it again."

"Thank you." The two sat silent for a few seconds and watched the basketball team. Haley looked over at Nathan. She knew Peyton was right even if she didn't want to admit it, but she knew nothing would come of her feelings. Things were too complicated right now. "How are you and Jake?"

"Uhm... We're doing fine." Peyton shrugged and looked at Haley. "We're not doing too great. I don't think it's going to work. We've been trying to spend time together lately, but it's like we have nothing to do, other than have sex and even that gets old."

"Not for back stabbing bitches like Brooke," Haley mumbled.

"Haley James, be nice."

"Sorry... I mean about you and Jake, not Brooke." Peyton rolled her eyes.

"It'll be okay. How weird is it living in the same apartment as Brooke?"

"I actually haven't seen her in like two days. She leaves early and gets in late. I guess I'll have to deal with it eventually and I'll figure that out then. Right now, I don't wanna think about it."

Haley and Peyton looked over at the team when Whitey blew his whistle. A few minutes later he dismissed the team and Haley and Peyton made their way over to them. Haley stopped when she saw Brooke approach Lucas. The two acted as if they hadn't just broken up with someone three days prior. Lucas looked up and made eye contact with Haley and she couldn't handle it anymore.

"I gotta go. Tell Nathan I'll call him later," Haley said to Peyton before leaving the gym. Peyton walked over to Brooke and Lucas.

"Can I talk to you?" She said to Brooke.

"I'm busy..." Brooke turned away from Peyton and back to Lucas.

"No, you're not." Peyton grabbed Brooke by the arm and pulled her away from Lucas.

"Ow! Peyton, let go!" When they were on the other side of the gym Peyton let go and turned to Brooke.

"Look, you need to stop. If you're gonna date Lucas, don't flaunt it in front of Haley."

Brooke got a fake confused look on her face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do, Brooke. You're acting like you've been dating Lucas for months in front of the girl you just broke him up with! She was your best friend and did nothing to you and you repay her this way? What is wrong with you?"

"Did you forget that she tried to kill me in the quad today?" Brooke pointed to her jaw which had a dark bruise forming on it.

"You totally deserved it! You stole her boyfriend and acted like it wasn't your fault. Sorry, but you deserved to get your ass kicked." Peyton shook her head and walked way.

* * *

Haley sat on the couch in the apartment living room waiting for Nathan so they could do their tutoring session. They hadn't really talked since the fight in the courtyard. Haley had called him after she had left the gym and told him to meet her at the apartment for tutoring because she didn't feel like going to her parent's house and had a feeling there wouldn't be any distractions around the apartment tonight.

Haley started thinking about what Peyton had said to her earlier. It really bugged her that Peyton could read her so well. She wondered if anyone else could see that she had feelings for Nathan and how obvious it was.

"You're losing it, Haley. You don't like him. You can't. It's insane." The sound of the front door closing jarred her from her thoughts and she turned around to see Nathan.

"You know, they say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." He walked over to the couch and sat next to Haley. "What were you going on about when I walked in?"

"It was nothing. Why do you ask?" Haley got a worried look on her face._'What if he heard me and is just playing dumb? Oh god.'_

"Just wondering what's bringing out the crazy in you, Hales."

"Nothing. You called me Hales. Why?"

"I don't know. It just came to mind. What's the big deal?" Nathan got a very confused look on her face. However, he started to understand when a blush crept across Haley's cheeks. "What _were_ you going on about when I walked in? Because I could have sworn you said something about you not liking someone. Who's this mystery person that you like?" Nathan cocked his eyebrow and gave her a smirk. This received him a glare from Haley.

"It sure wasn't you," she declared crossing her arms.

"I think you're lying..."

"Well I'm not."

"Right. So if I moved closer to you," he said doing just that, "you wouldn't be bothered in the least bit."

Haley eyeballed him closely and then gave him a smirk. "No."

Nathan knew she was lying. He moved even closer and sensed her tense up. "Really?" He continued moving closer until he had Haley backed up and leaning against the arm of the couch. He was hovering over her and staring at her.

"Nope, I'm not bothered at all." Her breathing was becoming heavier and she knew that Nathan knew she was lying. She just didn't want to admit it. Nathan slid a hand up Haley's side causing her skin to form goose bumps. They stared intently into each other's eyes and Haley felt herself getting lost in the dark blue orbs.

"And you wouldn't be bothered if we had a very close face-to-face conversation?" Haley became very nervous when Nathan leaned in and their lips were mere centimetres from each other.

"Uh..." She tried to say no, but she couldn't. Words were becoming very difficult to form and breathing was becoming very difficult.

"That's what I thought," Nathan said before closing the distance and kissing Haley. Haley didn't respond at first because she was so thrown off by Nathan's actions, but after a second she relaxed and kissed him back. However, the moment didn't last very long when they heard the door close. Nathan quickly jumped off of Haley and they both looked over the couch to see Peyton standing there with a huge grin on her face.

"I told you so," she said, looking at Haley, before going to her room. Nathan looked at Haley obviously confused.

**TBC.**

**Be kind. Review.**


	4. Sexual Feeling

**Playing It Wrong  
Chapter Four – Sexual Feeling**

**  
****Summary:**_Haley James is at the top of her class and has everything she wants, a great boyfriend, tons of friends, and she's the captain of the cheerleading squad. Nathan Scott is recently injured and hating life. The only good thing he has is his girlfriend. However, when Haley and Nathan's "other halves" go behind their backs and get together, Haley devises a plan for revenge: Date Nathan Scott. Will it work or will she become too distracted along the way?_

**A/N:** Again, thank you all for the lovely reviews! Please keep them coming. Also, in this chapter, in the first section, Haley doesn't answer Nathan's question and that isn't a mistake. It will be answered in probably chapter 15. Sorry! I threw a curveball in at the end. If you figure out what I'm up to, PLEASE do not say it in a review. I have had previous stories spoiled because people do that. And thank you to my lovely beta, again! This story has caused much writer's block and she's been great. Thanks and keep reviewing!

* * *

"_And you wouldn't be bothered if we had a very close face-to-face conversation?" Haley became very nervous when Nathan leaned in and their lips were mere centimetres from each other._

"_Uh..." She tried to say no, but she couldn't. Words were becoming very difficult to form and breathing was becoming very difficult. _

"_That's what I thought," Nathan said before closing the distance and kissing Haley. Haley didn't respond at first because she was so thrown off by Nathan's actions, but after a second she relaxed and kissed him back. However, the moment didn't last very long when they heard the door close. Nathan quickly jumped off of Haley and they both looked over the couch to see Peyton standing there with a huge grin on her face. _

"_I told you so," she said, looking at Haley, before going to her room. Nathan looked at Haley obviously confused._

"Told you so what?" said Nathan.

"Don't worry about it." Haley moved to the other couch and grabbed her Calculus book. "We should work on Calculus."

"Hales… We should talk about this."

"No we shouldn't. It was nothing, Nathan. We just got carried away and I pushed you so it isn't anything we should worry about." Haley wouldn't look at Nathan and continued to focus on her book. She could feel the butterflies flying around in her stomach. While she wanted to believe the kiss was nothing, she knew that wasn't true. Damn it Peyton. It was all her fault she had these damn thoughts occupying her mind, she could've just said nothing and kept Haley's mind at ease, but no Peyton Sawyer always has to put her two cents in. Even though Haley knew that Peyton was just trying to help she was still slightly annoyed at her friend. These stupid thoughts were torturing her.

"You know I was just testing you, right?" When Haley gave him a confused look, he went on. "I was seeing how you would react if I kissed you because if we're going to go through with this, it needs to look natural… not awkward."

Haley shook her head. "I'm not doing it."

"Why not?"

"I just don't want to anymore. I have no desire to do that." She shrugged. "Besides, I'm not going to sink to her level."

"Haley, it wouldn't be sinking to her level. What she did was shallow. What we would be doing is pretending to date to make them jealous and get them back."

"I can't do it, Nathan. Okay? It's not that I don't want to… I just can't."

"What do you mean?" Haley didn't say anything. "Haley?"

"We should finish this," she said pointing to her Calculus Book. "There's a test tomorrow and neither of us have studied so we should get to that."

"Will you just explain why you _can't_ do it?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said and looked down at her book. Nathan grabbed the book and set it down beside him.

"Haley, answer the question."

"Fine. You want to know why I can't do it. I can't do it because—" Haley stopped speaking when the front door to the apartment shut. Nathan and Haley turned towards the door and saw Brooke standing there. The three remained silent for about a minute before Haley turned back to Nathan.

"Can I please have my book back now?"

"Not until you answer my question."

"We aren't having this conversation right now. Got it?" She reached across him and grabbed her book. Haley noticed Brooke was still standing by the door. "Can we help you?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm just getting some things. I'll be gone soon," she said looking away.

"Already moving in with your new boyfriend?"

"No, actually I'm moving out and into my own place. Why don't you give it a rest?"

"Why don't you stop sleeping with other people's boyfriends?" Haley stood up and made her way around the couch. She hadn't gotten to punch Brooke earlier and wasn't going to let Nathan keep her from finishing what she had started.

"You know what, Haley? I said sorry and you didn't listen. I don't want you to forgive me right now. I just wish that you would understand that I made a mistake and I would give anything to take it back and have my best friend back."

"No you wouldn't because then you wouldn't be with Lucas. You love him and that's great, but you betrayed me and you betrayed Nathan. I can't talk to, let alone be friends with someone, who does horrible things to the people that she cares about. You know what my mom did to my dad and how much that hurt me and here you are following suit. You don't regret anything, Brooke, and you know it so stop pretending that you do."

* * *

Brooke had only taken about ten minutes to get all of her clothes and necessities and had said nothing when she left the apartment. Nathan and Haley were still sitting on the couch, only now they were actually studying, or at least Nathan was. Haley was still distracted from their kiss. It had felt so right to her and she was scared because she hadn't ever felt that way with Lucas, not even when they had first started dating. Haley glanced over at Nathan who was diligently working out math problems. Haley set her book down and got up. 

"I'm gonna go talk to Peyton…"

Nathan looked up and nodded. "Okay."

Haley turned and made her way down the hall and stopped at Peyton's door. She could hear Led Zeppelin's '_Babe I'm Gonna Leave You_' coming from inside the room. Haley shook her head knowing that Peyton was in one of her 'express my mood through my music' moods. Right now she was in a breaking up mood. Haley knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later Peyton opened the door.

"Hey," she said and moved aside so Haley could enter her room.

"Hey. I just wanted to let you know that what you interrupted was nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing to me."

"Well, it wasn't anything so if we could just not talk about it or ever mention it again, that'd be great."

Peyton shrugged. "Or we could talk about how you like Nathan and you're too scared to admit it because you just broke up with Lucas three days ago. You didn't punch Brooke because she slept with Lucas." Haley furrowed her eyebrows. "You punched her because she hurt Nathan."

"That's not true. She deserved what she got."

"And I'm not saying she didn't. I wanted to punch her today in the gym because of what a bitch she was being. But Lucas isn't the reason you fought with Brooke and you know I'm right and you may as well stop arguing with me because you're not going to win. You like Nathan. End of story. What you choose to do about it is your own decision, but stop acting like it's not true because everyone knows it is. Why do you think he kissed you? He knows you like him. Nathan's not as stupid as you would like to think. Hell, even Brooke knows. Why do you think she said all those shitty things to you in the quad? She wanted to piss you off and see how far she could get you to go."

Haley sighed and sat down on Peyton's bed. "What do you think I should do?"

"I think you shouldn't do anything. You and Nathan just got your hearts broken and aren't ready for something serious. Try and be friends. You two suck at that so you should work on that before you decide to try and date or whatever."

"Did I tell you about the crazy plan I came up with?" She laughed at the thought.

"No, you mentioned it, but didn't explain in detail."

"The morning after the whole blow up, I thought it would be great idea to ask Nathan if he wanted to pretend to date so we could make Brooke and Lucas jealous and get them back. Well, Nathan was being a big sissy about it and said no so I decided, and keep in mind I had just woken up and was still out of it, to try and seduce him to make him agree."

"Like… Naked seduction?"

"Close enough. I was wearing panties and a bra."

"Haley James! You little slut. Who knew you had it in you." Haley smacked Peyton on the arm.

"Hey! I am not Little Miss Inexperienced."

"Having sex with your boyfriend of three years doesn't mean you're experienced with seduction and how to make a man squirm. Sorry, but it's true." Haley glared at Peyton, who in turn shrugged.

"Have you talked to Jake?"

"Yeah. We broke up today actually. Right after I talked to you, we had the talk and it was over."

"I'm sorry Peyton," Haley said giving her friend a hug.

"I'll be fine."

"Well, I'm here for you no matter what. I can't say the same about Brooke. She's too busy moving in with my ex-boyfriend. She moves quite fast."

"Haley, she did get her own place. Just thought you might like to hear it from someone else."

"Oh."

* * *

Nathan sat on the couch thinking about what had happened in the past week. A week ago, he had been happy and in love and sure that Brooke was the one for him. Now he sat there thinking about the kiss he had shared with Haley and why he hadn't agreed to date her in the first place. He wasn't scared of the consequences. If anything, rather than getting Brooke back, he could grow closer to Haley and possibly have something come out of it. Instead, he had run from his problems and any solutions because he was hurt. He didn't want to be hurt again and even though he knew Haley couldn't hurt a fly— unless the fly's face looked like Brooke's— he didn't want to get involved and have people talk. 

When he had kissed Haley, he felt something and knew that his feelings for her were more than friendly. He hadn't felt that way with Brooke in months and he missed it. He had complicated things and was now scared that he had scared away Haley and things would be awkward from now on. He wanted so much to take back the kiss, not because he didn't want to freak out Haley, but because it had confirmed his feelings for her and that was something he had been trying to avoid. Nathan let out a long sigh.

"What have you done, you idiot?" he muttered to himself.

* * *

Nathan had left the apartment over an hour ago and had walked around Tree Hill not sure of what to do. He wasn't surprised when he ended up where he was standing now. It was the apartment he and Brooke had looked at a few months prior and he wasn't surprised to see her car outside of it. He had been avoiding her for the past few days and decided he may as well talk to her and get it over with. 

Nathan walked up to the door and knocked. Brooke opened the door about thirty seconds later and a frown instantly appeared on her face.

"Nate. Come to yell at me?"

"No."

"What are you doing here then?" She moved aside to let him inside.

"You wanted to talk," he said entering the apartment. It was bare except for a few boxes in the area he assumed to be the living room.

"Uhm, yeah. I would offer you a seat, but I don't have any furniture, yet."

Nathan shrugged. "I can stand. I don't plan to be here very long."

"Alright. I should probably get straight to the point then. I'm sorry. I know you may not care or even want to hear that and you probably don't even believe me, but I am so sorry. I just… I stopped loving you one day and I know that's a really crappy thing to say, but it's the truth and I'm not going to lie to you. I want you to know that I truly am sorry and I was a coward. I couldn't bring myself to break up with you because I was afraid of breaking your heart, even though I obviously did that. The last thing I wanted was to lose you and Haley, and I deserve to have you two not talk to me and I guess I can live with that."

"Why Lucas?"

"He was there for me. We were having so many problems and he listened to everything I had to say and he was there for me and eventually it turned into something. I wish I hadn't gone to him for help, but I'm happy now. I hope you understand that."

Nathan nodded. "I do. I can forgive you, Brooke. I wasn't there for you and I tried to ignore the voice in my head telling me that the other day, but it's become louder and I know that I wasn't a great boyfriend. I just wish you had been honest with me… and with Haley."

"Thank you for listening." She gave Nathan a hug and then quickly let go because it was more awkward then she had imagined.

"No problem, but I gotta go. I need to go talk to someone." Brooke nodded.

"Yeah. I'll see you around." Once Nathan had walked out the door, Brooke closed it and turned around.

"I don't like lying about this…" she said to Lucas.

"It's for the best right?"

* * *

**TBC. Be kind. Review.  
PS. The writer's strike may be ending soon and then we can have 22 episodes instead of 12! Yay!**


	5. I'm Sorry

Hi Everyone!

Yes, my computer is fixed. I know I said I would have something when it was done. However, I have gotten really busy with school lately. I'm taking three senior level courses and I'm a freshman. I'm also in a sorority and am a chair for an organization. Here's the good news. I have started on the next chapter and school is out for the summer on May 2. So hang in there and I'll have something once I'm out of school. And don't forget to watch One Tree Hill on Mondays! Who loved tonight's episode?

Bye lovelys!


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